girl scouts of america crisis management...

Girl Scouts of America Crisis Management PlanCookie Recall/ Refund

Created March 21, 2015

Falynn Kelly

Girl Scouts of America Crisis Management Plan

Table of Contents

Introduction/ CEO Statement………….....………………..……….…p.3

Purpose and Objectives.....…………………………………………........p.4

Key Publics………….........…………………………………………..............p.5

Crisis Communication Team.……….....……………………………….p.6-7

Media Spokesperson.……………………………………………………...p.8

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Emergency Personnel and Local Officials………….……...……...p.9

Key Media……….....……………………………………………...…………...p.10

Equipment and Supplies……...………………………………….........…p.11

Web Page/ Social Media…………………………....………...…………..p.12

Websites and Related Links……………………………….......………..p.13

Key Messages……………………………...……………………...…………..p.14

Problem Questions…………………………………………………….……p.15

Sample Press Briefing………………………………………....…………..p.16

Preventative Actions…………………………………....……...………….p.17

Evaluation Form………………………………………....…………………..p.18

Introduction/ CEO Statement

Dear Girl Scouts of America employees, board executives, and leaders;

To begin with, I would like to take the time to thank you all for the diligent work you do for The Girl Scouts of America. You have helped with the success of our company and have made it what it is today.

The Girl Scouts of America is a family friendly organization that prides itself on making safe and delicious cookies. Our biggest concern is for our consumers, and we would never want to risk their health with a contaminated product. We would never want to risk the reputation of our company, which is why I am asking you to take the time to read this crisis plan.

Although we have yet to come across a contamination of our cookies we still need to be well prepared for future problems that may arise. Our Crisis Management Team has built a well-structured plan for this specific crisis. The team has put countless hours into creating this plan incase an incident were to ever occur.

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Thank you again for everything you do for The Girl Scouts of America.

Sincerely, Anna Maria Chavez Girl Scouts of the USA, CEO

Purpose and Objectives

Purpose:

To ensure a quick and effective response to the crisis

To answer any and all questions about the crisis that has occurred and

eliminate fear

To keep the name of The Girl Scouts of America intact by being honest and

truthful with consumers

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Objectives:

To ensure the consumers and public that their health is our main concern

To be transparent to the public about the crisis at hand

To reach out to the public as soon as the crisis arises to establish credibility

To show that we are solving the crisis to the best of our knowledge

Key Publics

Girl Scouts of America Board Members

Girl Scouts of America employees

Girl Scouts of America stakeholders

Girl Scouts of America Troops and Troop Leaders

Media outlets

Legal Representatives

Suppliers

Competitors

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Crisis Communication Team

In the event of a contamination crisis each of these people should be contacted and report to the effected regions’ headquarters. This list consists of Girl Scouts of America Officials, Girl Scouts of America regional representatives, manufacturer representatives, ingredient supplier representatives, and FDA press officers.

Name and Position Cell Phone Work Phone E-mailJennifer L. RochonGeneral Counsel – Girl Scouts of the USA

555-555-1117

555-555-1118 [email protected]

Joanne RencherChief People Officer – Girl Scouts of the USA

555-555-1119


Lynne GodfreyChief Strategy Officer – Girl Scouts of the USA

555-555-1121


Josh Woodrum 555-555- 555-555-1126 [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]





President of Supply Chain – Girl Scouts of the USA

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Jennifer Corbett DoorenFDA Press Officer

555-555-1127


Falynn KellyCrisis Management Team – Girl Scouts of the USA

555-555-1130


Kristen PerdueCrisis Management Team – Girl Scouts of the USA

555-555-1132


Christy MooreCrisis Management Team – Girl Scouts of the USA

555-555-1134


***Each individual region will need to contact their regional President, Vice President, Cookie Sales Representative and Public Relations Manager. Each region’s manufacturer will need to contact their individual suppliers’ executive board based on which ingredient was contaminated.

Media Spokesperson

In light of a crisis situation, the ideal person for spokesperson is Anna Maria Chavez, Girl Scouts of America CEO. Anna, with an extensive knowledge of the organization, is well equipped in the areas of public speaking and crisis management. As the CEO, she has handled situations in the past that needed the same level of expertise, and did so with poise.

In case this issue goes in a different direction and we are in need of an expert on the problem at hand, we will call on Chief Cookie Sales Officer, Brooke Hampton, on the Girl Scout cookie product and FDA official, Dr. Guy Johnson, on food contaminates. Finally, if the issue has ties with any of our ingredient suppliers we will be contacting our President of the supply Chain, Josh Woodrum.

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Emergency Personnel and Local Officials

The preceding is a list of organizations that should be contacted in a result of a crisis situation. If this is an emergency situation in which someone’s health and/or safety is concerned please call 911.

Jessica Knightly Food and Drug Administration230 Main St. New York, NY 67584Cell: (111)111-1111Home: (111)111-1112Work: (111)111-1113Email: [email protected]

Patrick FallonNew York Police Department22nd St. New York, NY 67597

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Cell: (111)111-1114Home: (111)111-1115Work: (111)[email protected]

** If this case is a regional issue each Public Relations Manager/ Management Team will have their own list of Emergency Contact Personnel in their local communities. Please make use of those contacts. **

Key Media

In the case of a nationwide issue here is the key media contact list. If this is only a regional issue the Public Relations Manager/Management team will have a local key media contact list.

Maggie SteenlandNBC News Communications(212) 664 – [email protected]

Irena BrigantiFOX Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications(888) [email protected]

Margaret Sullivan New York Times Public Editor(555) 444 – 2902

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[email protected]

Jean CattyNational Public Radio Producer(983)- 389- [email protected]

Rebecca HoltenSatellite Radio (XM, Sirius) Producer(234) – 237 – [email protected]

Equipment and Supplies

Crisis situations happen rapidly and it is critical for the members of the management team to be well equipped and ready to go. These supplies will be held in the New York corporate office, as it is a general location for every region to report to. However, every region will be equipped with equipment and supplies to ensure if a crisis were to occur that each region will be prepared. The Crisis Management Team will meet in the designated area (in the organizational building) assigned either by headquarters or the regional team effected, the CMT will be notified immediately of the meetings whereabouts.

List of supplies needed in each crisis conference room: Tables and Chairs Computers or Laptops White Board Conference Phone Printer(s) Television General Office Supplies (Pens, Papers, etc.)

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All members of the Crisis Management Team should come equipped with: All necessary paperwork/ records that relate to the crisis at hand All contact information needed for a contact list A Print out of Crisis Management Plan Cell Phones fully charged

Other supplies needed within in CMT meeting vicinity: Video equipped camera Tripod Podium Backdrop Microphone Chairs

Web Page/ Social Media

In the case of this crisis, these are the major social media sites to put any and all information about the recall and investigation process.

Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/GirlScoutsUSA

Twitterhttps://twitter.com/girlscouts

Instagramhttps://instagram.com/girlscouts/

YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/user/girlscoutvideos

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https://www.youtube.com/user/girlscoutvideos

https://instagram.com/girlscouts/

https://twitter.com/girlscouts

https://www.facebook.com/GirlScoutsUSA


Websites and Related Links

As well as keeping our consumers informed through our social media webpages we also will keep them updated on our homepage (https://www.girlscouts.org).

We also need to keep information updated on related websites to this crisis. This way our consumers can be sure that we are following the proper rules and regulations and not cutting any corners.

Food and Drug Administrationwww.fda.gov

***If this crisis occurs you will need to add in your regions specific manufacturer and the contaminated ingredients supplier’s website.

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http://www.fda.gov/

https://www.girlscouts.org/


Key Messages

During a press briefing we want to reassure the public that we are in control of the situation at hand while also maintaining the Girl Scouts of America brand.

Apology: The Girl Scouts of America would like to formally apologize for the contamination of our cookies. We are working diligently and closely with our suppliers and the FDA to find the source and cause of the contamination. We are hoping to have this crisis resolved quickly with as little illness as possible.

Top Priority: Our top priority as a family-friendly organization is that of our consumers’ health and safety. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our various offices either regional or nation wide. If you are afraid of potential health concerns, please contact your doctor immediately. If it is an emergency contact 911.

Compensation: The Girl Scouts of America takes full responsibility for this issue and we feel it is crucial to show compassion towards our customers, as they are our top priority. Although we may not be able to compensate

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everyone, we are working diligently to refund everyone who sends in an application that is approved.

Prevention: Although there is nothing we can do to prevent the situation now, there is always time to plan for future issues that may arise. We hope to stay on top of product testing to better insure the health and safety of our consumers.

Problem Questions

While giving the press briefing, reporters may try to ask questions to trick and confuse you. It is important that you are well prepared for any and all questions. The more prepared you are the more trusting viewers and reporters will be that the crisis is being properly handled. Here is a list of possible problem questions that may arise.

How were the cookies contaminated?o ***This question will need to be properly answered based on the

circumstances of the contamination at the time the crisis occurs. What are you doing to fix this problem?

o We are currently working closely with the FDA and manufacturer to find the source of contamination. As soon as we find the source we will figure out exactly how it got into the cookies.

How long is it going to take?o The entire investigation from start to finish should take

approximately two weeks. Which product is contaminated?

o ***This question will need to be properly answered based on the circumstances of the contamination at the time the crisis occurs.

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What is the estimated time for these cookies to get back on the market safely?

o To ensure the safety of our consumers these specific cookies will not be placed back on the market until next year’s round of cookie sales. However, if our consumers would like to have an exchange of these specific cookies we can have them shipped in from a different, uncontaminated region.

What should the public do if they were to eat the cookies?o They should monitor their health and watch for any possible

symptoms of food poisoning. These symptoms include: Muscle weakness Vomiting Fever Diarrhea Upset stomach

Will this be a concern in the future?o This will not be a future concern. We have learned from past mistakes

and will be taking better preventative actions to ensure that this issue does not arise again.

Were the cookies poisoned?o The cookies were not poisoned. One of the ingredients in the cookies

was contaminated.

Sample Press Briefing

Good afternoon. Thank you to everyone that could make it to this press briefing on such a short notice. This afternoon we will be discussing about the contamination of one of our cookies. We regret to inform you that in this year’s making of the Tagalongs/Peanut Butter Patties, the peanut butter used to make the cookies was contaminated. We have sent out recalls/ refunds for these cookies via radio stations, television news media, and newspaper agencies across the region that was effected, and would like to make you aware of the recall/ refund again today. The Girl Scouts of America “Girl Scout cookies” are distributed by one manufacturer per region. This means that there is only one region of the distribution of Girl Scout cookies that have been affected. The region effected was that of The Virginia Skyline, I encourage you to make yourself aware. This is not a nation-wide issue. Also, the cookies containing peanut butter, tag-a-longs/peanut butter patties are the only cookies in question. We continue to work quickly to get the contaminated cookies off the shelves and out of the homes of consumers, as we are very concerned of our consumers’ health and well-being. For those of you who would like a refund or exchange of cookies for your troubles please follow this protocol; send an email to [email protected], which you may also find on our

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website, with a picture of your cookies in question, include every box purchased, and a recent news paper (showing the date) in the picture. In the email, make sure to give us your name, address (to refund the money or send you your desired exchange), and include the picture. If you have a box of these cookies and would not like a refund or exchange of cookies, we ask you to dispose of them as soon as possible, and get the word out to others who may be in possession. For those who have consumed the product we encourage you to watch for symptoms of, upset stomach, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and muscle weakness. If you begin experiencing these symptoms please notify your doctor immediately. We thank you for your cooperation and patience and hope to get this issue solved as soon as possible.

Preventative Actions

This list is a preventative action plan that we will take to make sure this issue will not happen again:

-Regular health inspection of manufacturing plants

-Better background checks of suppliers -Stay on top of product testing to better insure the health and safety of consumers -Insuring our ingredients supplies are reliable

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Evaluation FormPlease fill out and return this evaluation form to the Girl Scouts of the USA Vice President as soon as you can. It is important that we get your feedback to better the execution of this plan. We appreciate the time you have taken to read through this and thank you for your patience.

Please answer the following questions on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree.

1. I fully understand what this crisis plan is asking me to do in the event of a crisis. 1 2 3 4 5

2. This crisis plan is well thought out and organized. 1 2 3 4 53. After reading this I feel completely prepared to handle this type of crisis.

1 2 3 4 5

Additional Comments:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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By signing below I am stating that the answers I have given are completely honest.

Signature______________________________________________Date_____________________________

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